Oregon State U Announces $200M Research Complex with Supercomputer for AI, Materials Science, and Robotics

  • By Kate Lucariello
  • 10/17/22
Artist rendering of the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex

Artist rendering of the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex

Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis has announced the construction of a $200 million research and education complex that will feature a powerful supercomputer to support research in AI, materials science, and robotics. The complex will provide students and researchers with the technology tools to tackle challenges in climate science, oceanography, sustainability, and water resources, as well as support OSU's education in semiconductors and other tech industries in and beyond Oregon.

The 150,000-square-foot facility, named the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex, is supported by a $50 million gift from Jen-Hsun Huang, founder and CEO of computer company Nvidia, and his wife Lori, who are both OSU alumni. Nvidia will provide a supercomputer capable of "training the largest AI models and perform[ing] complex digital twin simulations,"the university said. It will incorporate NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD and OVX SuperPOD systems, and the water used for cooling will help heat buildings across the OSU campus. The center will also contain an advanced clean room, research laboratories, extended-reality theater, robotics and drone playground, and makerspace.

"The Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex will be an incredible contributor to our state and world by supporting innovation, entrepreneurship, and partnerships with industry and other higher education institutions,"said Edward Feser, OSU provost and executive vice president.

In 2023, with support from the governor and state legislators, OSU plans to request $75 million in state-paid bonding to match philanthropic and university contributions for the complex, as well as seek other donations. Part of the funding will support "targeted faculty hires and the university's goals to increase diversity in STEM fields,"OSU said. The center is expected to open in 2025. For more information, read the full release.

About the Author

Kate Lucariello is a former newspaper editor, EAST Lab high school teacher and college English teacher.

Featured

  • glowing blue AI sphere connected by fine light lines, positioned next to a red-orange shield with a checkmark

    Cloud Security Alliance Offers Playbook for Red Teaming Agentic AI Systems

    The Cloud Security Alliance has introduced a guide for red teaming Agentic AI systems, targeting the security and testing challenges posed by increasingly autonomous artificial intelligence.

  • server racks, a human head with a microchip, data pipes, cloud storage, and analytical symbols

    OpenAI, Oracle Expand AI Infrastructure Partnership

    OpenAI and Oracle have announced they will develop an additional 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity, expanding their artificial intelligence infrastructure partnership as part of the Stargate Project, a joint venture among OpenAI, Oracle, and Japan's SoftBank Group that aims to deploy 10 gigawatts of computing capacity over four years.

  • laptop displaying a red padlock icon sits on a wooden desk with a digital network interface background

    Reports Highlight Domain Controllers as Prime Ransomware Targets

    A recent report from Microsoft reinforces warnings about the critical role Active Directory (AD) domain controllers play in large-scale ransomware attacks, aligning with U.S. government advisories on the persistent threat of AD compromise.

  • Abstract AI circuit board pattern

    New Nonprofit to Work Toward Safer, Truthful AI

    Turing Award-winning AI researcher Yoshua Bengio has launched LawZero, a new nonprofit aimed at developing AI systems that prioritize safety and truthfulness over autonomy.